Surveillance footage taken from a Wells Fargo ATM on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, shows a man wanted by Mobile police for putting a scanning device on the machine.

MOBILE, Alabama -- Mobile police are reaching out to the
public after a man was caught on ATM security cameras putting a card scanning
device on the machine.

The person's gender and other distinguishing features are unclear
in images released by the Mobile Police Department, although MPD has identified
the suspect as a man.

He was caught around 5 a.m. on Dec. 9 putting a card
scanning device on an ATM at the Wells Fargo at 5417 Highway 90.

Another photo released by Mobile police shows a man dressed in baggy clothes as he walks away from a Wells Fargo ATM machine shortly after placing a skimming device on it Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012.

Devices used for card scanning purposes, called "skimmers," can record credit card information when the scanner is used.

For example, if a person swipes his or her card at a gas station debit card reader with a skimmer on it, then enters his or her pin number, that information gets stored in the skimmer.

A person can later retrieve the device, complete with credit card and debit pin numbers.

The bank's manager was trained in recognizing scanning
devices and removed it from the machine before anyone's information could be
swiped, according to Cpl. Christopher Levy, public information officer for MPD.